Sir Len

I have always been a good and loyal Lancastrian, which in itself strikes me as a perfectly reasonable explanation for why I have always taken a keen interest in cricket on “t’other side o’ Pennines”. It brings to mind the old adage about keeping your friends close and your enemies closer. What I find less explicable is why, since I started writing short biographies of cricketers I admire, my subjects from the county of the White Rose have outnumbered those of my own county by more than two to one. Perhaps that is because as a rule Yorkies are more interesting human beings. I try to avoid facing up to the alternative explanation, that the Broadacres have simply produced a disproportionate number of great cricketers.

The reason for the pre-eminence of so many Yorkshire cricketers is a question I will perhaps return to in a future piece, but for present purposes it matters little, because Len Hutton was a great whatever cricketing currency you trade in. There are a handful of men who have a better Test average than Hutton’s 56.67, or his career average of 55.51, but none of them faced the same combination of inhospitable batting conditions and injury Hutton had to deal with in the latter part of his career.

Hutton was born in 1916 in Fulneck, a Moravian community near Leeds. The Moravians are a Protestant faith who have a strong work ethic and, to the extent it is practicable to do so, seek to be self-reliant and self-contained. The future England captain’s father was a builder, a trade which Hutton would no doubt have entered had Yorkshire County Cricket Club not come calling. He remained a keen and accomplished carpenter throughout his life.

It will come as no surprise that Hutton was a hugely talented young batsman, and he soon found himself playing for the first team of the famous Pudsey St Lawrence club who, then as now, competed in the powerful and competitive Bradford League. Very early on the youngster would open the batting alongside the club professional, former Yorkshire opener Edgar Oldroyd. Many years later, in putting Oldroyd’s name forward as a member of his best eleven never to play Test cricket, John Arlott quoted a contemporary observer describing him as the best sticky wicket batsman in the world. Given his subsequent reputation the young Hutton must have been a willing pupil.

Pudsey St Lawrence was the cricketing alma mater of another great Yorkshire opening batsman, Herbert Sutcliffe, and he ensured that in 1930 Hutton came to the notice of the county. Even in those days Sutcliffe would say of his own achievements I’m only setting up these records for Hutton to break them. In the course of that 1930 summer Hutton’s cricketing ambitions were fuelled further by his first visit to a Test match. At 14 he watched a 21 year old Don Bradman set a new record for the highest individual score made in a Test match, 334, a record Hutton would take from the Don eight years later.

Following Sutcliffe’s introduction it was 1933 when a 16 year old Hutton was called to the Yorkshire colours for the first time. He was selected for the second eleven in the Minor Counties Championship against Cheshire. One of the curious features of Hutton’s career, given his immense powers of concentration, is the starts that he made as he ascended the cricketing ladder. In that match against Cheshire he was dismissed for a duck, and that was also the outcome of his next visit to the crease in the “Rosesbuds” match against Lancashire seconds. A year later he made his First Class debut against Cambridge University at Fenners, and he failed to trouble the scorers then as well. If the problem was the weight of expectation on his young shoulders it appeared again on his Test debut against the 1937 New Zealanders, when he went without scoring in the first innings, and had just a single to show for his second dig, falling victim both times to the first great New Zealand seamer, Jack Cowie.

In his early years there is no doubt Hutton was a cautious batsman, and many of his early innings prompted observations about the slowness of his scoring. An example came in only his fourth Championship fixture against Kent. Facing a deficit on first innings of 148 Hutton and his opening partner, Wilf Barber, put on 267 to go most of the way to making the game safe. Hutton was very much the junior partner in contributing just 70, and Barber was certainly not noted for his speed of scoring.

By the time war broke out and curtailed the 1939 season Hutton, by now 23, had changed. He was by then the complete batsman, with a full repertoire of strokes and the ability to adjust his rate of scoring to suit whatever situation his side was in. Concentration had never been a problem and he always had the ability to bat for long periods. His first ever century was 196, and in 1938 in the final Test at the Oval he batted for all of 13 hours and 20 minutes on his way to his famous 364 against Australia. With that innings Hutton’s life changed forever. No longer was he just a hard-working professional sportsman who was, when all was said and done, just another member of the community. He became a superstar and, to the extent that celebrities did in the 1930s, he became public property.

Cricketers were not paid a great deal in Hutton’s time, but he did see a marked improvement in his finances as a result of his great innings. The rewards might have been small beer compared with those the Flintoffs and Pietersens of the 21st century might achieve, but the GBP1,000 (the equivalent of GBP60,000 now) he was given by an Australian benefactor by way of recognition of his feat of endurance at the Oval in 1938, was a healthy start, and there many requests to endorse a variety of products.

That final peacetime summer saw Hutton score 12 centuries and 2,883 runs at more than 64. He was second only to Walter Hammond in the national averages. Had it not been for the pending hostilities bringing the season to a premature end his tally would surely have gone past 3,000. Another feature of the season was that Hutton finished eighth in the bowling averages. There had been approving murmers about his occasional leg breaks and googlies ever since he had made his debut but in 1939 he took 44 wickets at 18.88, by far his best season with the ball, and that summer two of his four career five-fers came in successive matches. He might have had it in him to go on to be a true all-rounder, but the game never found out. Hutton the world class batsman might have got over his appalling wartime injury, but Hutton the budding matchwinner with the ball never did.

Following the outbreak of war Hutton joined the Army and quickly became a Sergeant-Instructor in the Physical Training Corps. The damage was done in the most mundane of circumstances in 1941, Sgt Hutton slipping on a mat whilst attempting a fly-spring. He fractured his left forearm and dislocated the ulna at the base of the wrist. The injury threatened his career. Surgery, in the form of bone grafts, was required and Hutton’s convalescence was slow and not without setbacks. He was invalided out of the Army and only in 1943 were his first tentative steps in club cricket taken. The legacy of the injury was a left arm that was two inches shorter than the right, and he had to re-model his technique to take account of the disability. If the use of the word “disability” seems over-dramatic it should be borne in mind that in times even more austere than the disabled face in 21st century Britain, Hutton was awarded a 50% disability pension.

The First Class game spluttered back into life in the summer of 1945 with a series of matches between an England side and an Australian Services eleven. Hutton played in all five of the “Victory Tests” and encountered Keith Miller for the first time. Miller managed to strike him once on the left forearm, and the crowd held its breath as Hutton received treatment for a few minutes, but all was well. The confrontation between the two confirmed that, finally having acquired a pace threat, the Australians were going to target Hutton, the man who after 1938 they all feared.

The early post war exchanges between the counties in the damp summer of 1946 demonstrated Hutton had fully come to terms with the limitations his shortened arm created and he averaged more than 50 for Yorkshire. His performances against the touring Indians were disappointing, but there was never any question but that he would finally, at 30, travel to Australia for his first Ashes tour. That series in 1946/47 was a disappointing one for England but, on a personal level, Hutton topped the averages for both the Tests and the tour as a whole, the numbers being north of 50 and 70 respectively. Whatever weaknesses England had the Australian press and public saw and acknowledged Hutton was one of the very best.

Year in year out Hutton batted serenely through the late 1940s. There was just one hiccup, against Bradman’s “Invincibles” in 1948, when England had to deal with Miller and Ray Lindwall at their peak. Hutton was peppered with bouncers in the first Test as Bradman ruthlessly targeted the vulnerable arm. In those days memories of the “Bodyline” tour of 1932/33 were fresh for many, and whilst there was no leg theory from the Australians there were certainly shades of Jardine’s controversial tactics. The Australians were generally exceptionally well received in ’48, but the Trent Bridge crowd barracked Miller in particular as the glamorous former pilot bowled bumper after bumper at Hutton. They were no doubt remembering the way their bowlers were “required” to bowl against the 1934 Australians, but Miller, Bradman and the rest of the Australians were not distracted.

Despite the remorseless short stuff he faced Hutton scored 74 in England’s second innings in that first Test, although the game ended in heavy defeat for England, as did the second Test. Hutton scored 20 and 13 at Lord’s but was still dropped, even though Bill Edrich and Cyril Washbrook, who had both scored fewer runs in the first two matches, were retained. It was a hugely controversial decision, even the normally firmly pro-establishment Pelham Warner using his editorial in The Cricketer to criticise the selectors.

The man himself never had much to say about the episode, and a refreshed and seemingly revitalised Hutton was back and scoring runs in the final two Tests. Three of his four innings in those matches were half centuries, and the other was a fine 30 when he was last out amidst the carnage of England’s all out total of 52 in the first innings at the Oval. Perhaps he just needed a break, and was a party to the decision to rest him.

In 1949 Hutton passed 3,000 runs for the only time, and averaged almost 70. That summer there were four three day Tests against New Zealand, all drawn as the visitors batting proved too strong for the England bowlers to dismiss them twice.

At the end of May of 1950 Hutton played a leading role in one of the more pointless Test trials that have taken place, the Bradford match being all over by lunch on the second day. This was the occasion when Jim Laker took 8-2 as the Rest’s first innings collapsed to 27 all out. When England replied they got to 229, enough for an innings victory. Hutton scored 85, almost a quarter of the runs scored in the match – Wisden described superlative batting by Hutton who gave a dazzling display of batsmanship on a difficult pitch.

That summer of 1950 was the season West Indian cricket came of age, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine spinning their side to a 3-1 victory in the four Tests. To show his versatility Hutton was England’s leading batsman again. In the first Test, England’s sole victory, his innings of 39 and 45 on a turning wicket, whilst labouring under the handicap of a nasty hand injury, were a fine demonstration of his technique. Like his teammates Hutton never did quite work Ramadhin’s tricks out, but an average of 66 amply illustrated the quality of his resistance.

The following winter was more of the same, Hutton quite outstanding amidst a sorry England performance. Australia took the 1950/51 Ashes series 4-1, with the speed of Lindwall and Miller supplemented by mystery spinner Jack Iverson. Over the series Hutton averaged more than 88. Reg Simpson was next, fifty runs behind, and that lack of support was the reason for the extent of England’s defeat. The first Test of the series contained an innings that defined Hutton as a batsman.

Australian skipper Hassett won the toss at the ‘Gabba but would have been as disappointed as England were happy at the way the first day unfolded. Neil Harvey batted very well for 74, but England took wickets at regular intervals and by the close had bowled Australia out for 228. England celebrated their successes that evening, until the heavens opened and they faced the prospect of a Brisbane sticky the next day, a problem exacerbated by the covers leaking. In those days Australian curators simply nailed a tarpaulin to the pitch, which always tempted fate.

When play started next day England collapsed to 68-7. Hutton came in at six and was unbeaten on eight when skipper Freddie Brown called his batsmen in, gambling on getting Australia out cheaply before the pitch, hopefully, returned to normal next day. With the wicket still treacherous Australia found batting no easier than England had, and when their seventh wicket fell at just 32 Hassett returned the favour and declared. England needed 193 in order to start the series with a win. By the close however it was all over bar the shouting as the visitors slumped to 30-6.

Hutton, who with Compton had been held back in the hope conditions would improve, began with Godfrey Evans next morning, but when England’s combative ‘keeper and Compton both went at 46 the game looked over with just Brown and Doug Wright to come. England duly lost, by 70 runs, but Hutton, left unbeaten at the end on 62, batted wonderfully well. Former Australian opener turned scribe Jack Fingleton’s verdict on the game was England lost, in the final analysis, because they only had one Hutton. Just half another Hutton would have been sufficient. Commenting specifically on his second innings knock Fingo described it as a Test innings that will never be forgotten.

Brown was 41 when he led England against South Africa the following summer. A new skipper would clearly be needed to lead England against Australia in 1953. Continuity was preserved when Hutton accepted the offer of the job, having made it clear to the selectors that, unlike Walter Hammond 15 years previously, he was not prepared to become an amateur in order to accept the captaincy. In the popular press the appointment was a hugely popular one, although in the corridors of power there were some who still believed England should only ever be captained by an amateur, and others who were concerned that Hutton would be too defensive in his approach. As captain and key batsman Hutton felt under immense pressure throughout his tenure at the helm, particularly in his early days.

Despite his concerns about the pressures the captaincy brought, and variable levels of discomfort from fibrositis, Hutton’s batting was not affected in 1953 as he averaged 55 and, with 82 in the final Test at the Oval, laid the foundation for Engand’s first Ashes win for 20 years. His captaincy was criticised by some, particularly at Lord’s when he instructed Trevor Bailey to come off a long run and maintain a leg stump line without a slip in order to snuff out any hope Australia had of a successful run chase. His own perception of that incident, surely the right one, was that he had done no more than Australia would have in the same circumstances. By contrast his shrewd bowling changes and field placings, as well as that 82, attracted much praise at the Oval.

Awaiting Hutton after regaining the Ashes was an even tougher assignment, a tour to the Caribbean. The various island nations were in the throes of demanding independence, so there were political tensions to go with the purely cricketing problem of how to defeat an immensely strong opponent. In the first two Tests the home side, despite some team selection decisions that owed more to considerations of a political rather than cricketing nature, carried on where they had left off in 1950 with two big wins. The England captain’s batting was in good order though, with three half centuries in his four innings. The tide then turned in the third Test when, inspired by an innings of 169 from Hutton in more than seven and a half hours, England pulled one back. Hutton the captain was much praised when he declined to take his side off the field in the face of a near riot during the West Indies response, preferring to remain on the field and get on with the game in order to preserve the chance of taking more wickets.

The fourth Test was a high scoring draw before Hutton took England to a share of the series at Kingston where once again he led the way, this time with 205, the fourth time in Tests he had gone past 200. The tour had taken its toll on Hutton though. He had a miserable time with the bat in 1954, and took an extended break with what was described simply as exhaustion. He played just twice against the touring Pakistanis, scoring 19 runs in his three innings. No one could ever accuse Hutton of being a minnow basher, the Pakistanis and New Zealanders being the two countries against whom he averaged less than 50.

His problems in 1954 notwithstanding Hutton was fit enough to take England to Australia in 1954/55 to defend the Ashes. A big innings defeat at the ‘Gabba after he made the mistake of asking Australia to bat after winning the toss suggested 1953 might have been a flash in the pan. But the story of how Hutton’s young lions roared, and took the series 3-1 is one of the best known in the history of cricket’s greatest rivalry. After his treatment at the hands of Lindwall and Miller in the past Hutton was delighted to be able to unleash the speed and ferocity of Frank “Typhoon” Tyson on the unsuspecting Australians. His own batting was disappointing, his aching bones surely being the reason he averaged only 24, but for once it mattered little. Hutton’s presence was all that was required to inspire his teammates, and youngsters Peter May and Colin Cowdrey in particular, to score enough runs to get the results that were needed.

His antipodean mission accomplished Hutton did not immediately leave the international stage but after being re-appointed for the 1955 series against South Africa he was not fit enough to play, ushering in the Peter May era. Hutton had hoped to have a season or two more with Yorkshire, but by now he was taking as many as 16 painkillers a day to control the arthritis that had been restricting him for some time. So eleven matches in 1955 marked the last rites of a great career, although his desire to play on was such that he did not announce his retirement until the following January after his doctors confirmed there was no way back. There were one or two decent knocks in 1955, but an average of 29.83 was not a Huttonian figure. That said there was one last vintage performance in what proved to be Hutton’s penultimate match, 194 against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge. In many ways it was a case of rolling back the years, but not entirely. As if to mock his own reputation the last 94 came in just 65 minutes.

Some years before his retirement Hutton had opened a sports shop in Bradford and that, together with writing for the London Evening News and The Observer kept him busy. In the late 1950s the shop premises were compulsorily acquired for redevelopment, and Hutton decided against using the proceeds of the sale to relocate the business and he left Yorkshire to set up home in Kingston in the leafy Surrey stockbroker belt. Soon after the move he was employed by a firm of engineers, JH Fenner and Co, where he worked until retirement, making such a success of his marketing role that he eventually became a non-executive director.

In the days when honours were not so readily given as they are today Hutton became Sir Len as soon as the June after announcing his retirement. A man who played cricket as hard as anyone was, surprisingly, nothing like the gruff Yorkshireman that might have been expected. There was generally something of the curmudgeon about the best Yorkshire cricketers of that era. It was not just the accent that marked out the likes of Ray Illingworth, Brian Close and Fred Trueman as sons of the county of the white rose when they took up the microphone in the years after they left the Headingley dressing room. Sound judges of cricketers they may have been, but all could be harsh critics, and praise was always hard won.

Len Hutton seemed a different breed however. I recall a television tribute to him first shown not long before he died in 1990. The concluding part of the programme saw the narrator, Donald Trelford, chatting to Sir Len in the back garden of his Surrey home. He came across as a charming man, wholly content with his lot in life. He talked of his Yorkshire roots pulling at him as he got older, but indicated no intention to return. He talked of Bradman with great respect, and with genuine fondness for his great English contemporary, Denis Compton. He was asked about their contrasting styles, something he readily acknowledged, but he expressed the view that had he been a southerner he would have batted much more in the manner of Compo. On the modern game he, surprisingly, told Trelford he would have enjoyed the limited overs game. He signed off by confirming he would indeed like to have his time again, but not in the knowledge of what he had to come, such was the fun he had had in finding out.